British private equity firm Permira has acquired control of the digital fraud and financial crime protection company BioCatchThe Israeli company announced. Permira is buying a 57% stake from US venture capital firms Bain Capital Tech Opportunities and Maverick Ventures, in a secondary deal that values BioCatch at a total enterprise valuation of $1.3 billion.
The deal reflects an appreciation in BioCatch's value. According to PitchBook, three secondary deals were made over the past year valuing the company at $1 billion. In those deals in November 2023 and February 2024, which were not reported by the media, unidentified investors sold shares for $140 million to Permira, Sapphire and Cyverse Capital.
For Bain Capital and Maverick Ventures, the deal delivers good returns. The two funds led a $168 million funding round in BioCatch with other investors at a company valuation of just $232 million in 2020. In 2018, Maverick led a $30 million investment round at a company valuation of $133 million.
BioCatch has raised $230 million to date
According to PitchBook, Maverick has invested $13 million in BioCatch. In total, BioCatch has raised more than $230 million from a wide range of investors including Barclays, Citi and HSBC. Globes understands that BioCatch is expected to go public on the Nasdaq within the next two years.
Permira previously acquired two Israeli companies – NDS and Netafim.
BioCatch was founded in 2011 by Avi Turgeman and the late Benny Rosenbaum. The current CEO is Gadi Mazur. The company has developed a platform for managing user identities based on biological parameters such as mouse movement and individual browsing patterns. Last year, the company entered the financial crime prevention space by launching a product that offers a more proactive approach to bank account identification to protect against fraud.
BioCatch reported a 43% growth in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and according to the company, annual revenue will cross the $100 million mark by the end of the year and will be profitable in terms of EBITDA.
Mazur said: “Having built a strong partnership with Permira over the past year, we are pleased to welcome them as majority shareholders. The company’s impressive expertise in technology and cybersecurity, coupled with its scale, global network and close working relationship, have strengthened it.” They have been invaluable since their initial investment, and we are excited to take BioCatch to the next level together. I would also like to thank Matthew Kinsella of Maverick Ventures and Dewey Awad of Bain Capital for their support over the past four years. This is key to helping us consolidate our market leadership position.”
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on May 2, 2024.
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